Thousands of NYPD officers turned their backs on Mayor Bill de Blasio as he delivered a eulogy at the Brooklyn funeral of murdered police officer Wenjian Liu.

Officers who gathered
from all over the country to honor Liu lined up for blocks
outside of a Brooklyn funeral home where his body was displayed.
Replicating their silent protest from the funeral of Liu’s
partner last week, many faced away from the large television
screens broadcasting the memorial while de Blasio reflected on
Liu’s life and work.

Liu, a 32-year-old Chinese-American who immigrated to the United
States at 12, was shot last month along with his partner, Rafael
Ramos, by a killer who said he was avenging the deaths of two
unarmed black men killed by white police officers last year.
Prior to the double murder, the shooter wrote he wanted to put
“wings on pigs” on his Instagram. After fatally shooting
the two officers, he turned the gun on himself.

"As we start a new year, a year we're entering with hearts
that are doubly heavy" de Blasio addressed the crowd of
mourners. "Let us rededicate ourselves to those great New
York traditions of mutual understanding and living in harmony.
Let us move forward by strengthening the bonds that unite us, and
let us work together to attain peace."

At Ramos’ funeral late last month, officers also turned their
backs on the mayor, whom they accuse of fostering an atmosphere
which led to the murder by supporting the mass street protests
that were held after the killings of Eric Garner and Michael
Brown Jr.

The display of defiance was first performed by the head of the
rank-and-file police union when he turned his back on de Blasio
at a hospital the day of shooting.

The funeral of 32-year-old Liu was delayed so that his relatives
could come to New York from China, where he had recently married.

The cops’ silent protests indicate mounting tensions with de
Blasio. Prior to the recent upheaval over police violence, the
mayor clashed with police when he criticized the NYPD’s
controversial ‘stop-and-frisk’ policy which critics say unfairly
targets African-Americans.